CHAPTER TWO
"There's no such thing, Swerve."
"Aw, come on, Percy!" said the stout white and red mech standing in Perceptor's office at Kimia Facility. "It's just too much to be a coincidence! I mean, first you and Scrounge discover a Titan's arm two decades ago, then Halftrack, Comettor, and Astroscope go missing, and now rumors about the 'Cons having found a Titan-"
Perceptor whirled away from his project to face Swerve. "All right, first of all, don't call me 'Percy.' Second of all, I don't know what Scrounge and I found at the Hydrax Plateau all those years ago. Third of all, the Calabi-Yau was near an exploding planet, so of course they would get killed or go missing. And fourth of all, what makes you think the Decepticons aren't pulling a ruse?"
"But what about the name Prometheus?" Swerve asked, ignoring Perceptor's question. "A few months ago, Ratchet said he got a dying patient saying that name. And you said that-"
"I know what I said," Perceptor said hastily. "Like I said, I'm not sure what it was Scrounge and I found at Hydrax."
Swerve scratched his chin, determined to get Perceptor to admit that he was wrong about the Titans. Finally, the metallurgist said, "What does Azimuth have to say about all this?"
Perceptor blinked. "Azimuth."
"Yeah, you know... Azimuth. Founded the Patterners over three thousand years ago. Impersonal, thinks logically, and talks with big words I can't pronounce. Azimuth."
Perceptor sighed. "Swerve, I haven't spoken with Azimuth in nearly twenty years."
"Why? Did she dump you?"
"I- what?!" Perceptor glared down at the shorter Autobot. "Swerve, we were never- our relationship was never like that. We were just friends. Working partners."
Swerve grinned. "Right. So, where's Azimuth now?"
"I don't know. Like I said, it's been two decades. However...." Perceptor sighed, knowing what Swerve would say in response to this. "I do have her comm frequency."
"Oh-ho-ho! You've got her phone number! You lucky cyber-dog!"
"Ahem."
Swerve yelped as he whirled around to see a tall, blueish green mech standing behind him. He then sighed in relief. "Oh, hey, Brainstorm. Sorry, I thought you were... Trailbreaker or someone."
Brainstorm gave Swerve an odd look but instead turned to Perceptor. "Hey, Perceptor. Emirate Xaaron wants to speak with you."
At the sound of the old Emirate's name, Perceptor's mouth dropped open. "What for?"
"Heck if I know. He's in Room 113. I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you."
As Perceptor headed out of his office, he wondered what it was Xaaron wanted. They usually only spoke at Ethics Committee conferences. What ever it was, he partially hoped it did not have anything to do with Titans.
* * *
"I wish to speak with you about the Titans."
Perceptor found it incredibly hard to keep himself sitting upright and not bang his head on the table he was sitting at. Noticing the tense expression on his face, Emirate Xaaron smiled.
"Don't worry, it's not a question of belief. I know you don't believe in the Knights of Cybertron and whatnot."
That's an understatement, Perceptor thought, though he visibly relaxed.
Xaaron reached under the table, pressing an unseen control panel, and a holographic depiction of a supposed Titan appeared on the table.
"The Titans have long been said to be the vessels of our supposed ancestors, the Knights of Cybertron. As you know, it's fairly recently been reported that the Decepticons have found such a legend on Dabola, and some say that the Calabi-Yau was destroyed by one."
"What of it then?" Perceptor asked, beginning to grow impatient. "These 'discoveries' are nothing new and we've ignored them on multiple occasions in the past. Why does it matter now?"
"There's been a third discovery," Xaaron said. "On a satellite near an unclaimed gas giant world."
"And?"
"It was discovered by your former colleague Azimuth."
Perceptor's eyes dilated in surprise. "Azimuth, you say? What did she have to say about it?"
"A lot," Xaaron chuckled. "It would take the entirety of my life to read her report out loud. Anyway, she is conducting an exploration of sorts within the Titan, and wants you to be a part of it."
Perceptor nodded. "Then I accept. Where am I to meet her?"
"On Cybertron, at the Delta Magnus Spaceport," Xaaron said. "Oh, and there was a message she wanted me to deliver to you."
"What is it?"
"'Beware of Prometheus.'"
* * *
"Lord Megatron, I simply do not see how this is possible."
Watching as a team of Constructicons extracted the giant Titan's arm, Megatron cast a glance at the Seeker Air Commander standing beside him. "Explain, Starscream."
The gray and red Seeker gestured at the massive arm. "Titans don't even exist. They're just myths; legends."
"It would seem that you are wrong."
Starscream glared at him. "With all due respect, my liege, I have dabbled in enough science to know that it is near impossible for one to create a Titan. One, perhaps. But several? Impossible."
"Please do tell me why," Megatron said, his tone inflicted with sarcasm.
The Seeker rolled his eyes. "If these so-called Knights of Cybertron could create so many Titans, then why are we still having difficulty finishing Trypticon?"
The Decepticon leader smirked. "It is my hope that all of our answers lie in there."
Following his gaze towards the Titan's arm, Starscream hastily shook his head. "No, no, no. You can't be serious."
"And since when have I ever been known for my humor?"
"You're delusional," Starscream said. "A fanatic. You name yourself after The Fallen, even styling yourself to be evocative of him. You rant and rave about being the true heir to the legacy of Primus. And now... this."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"With all due respect, my liege, yes. Your blind devotion and delusions of grandeur will only lead to utter defeat." Starscream paused, as if expecting a violent reaction of sorts. When Megatron gave none, he went on. "What if your beliefs turn out to be wrong, and we have no backup plan to compensate for it? Trannis probably would have-"
He squawked as Megatron backhanded him across the face, sending the Seeker sprawling to the ground. As Starscream scrambled to his feet, he looked up to see Megatron glaring down at him.
"If you ever compare me to that sorry excuse for a leader, you will regret having ever been built."
With that, the Decepticon leader turned on his heel and strode away from the frightened Seeker.
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